Cooke catalogued the books in the John Rylands Library and she helped in the development of higher education for women in Manchester.

The fellowship funded post-graduate research[1] which resulted in a publication in 1893 of what became the standard account of early Cistercian monasteries.

[2] 1893 also saw Cooke become the first woman lecturer working for Thomas Frederick Tout at her alma mater and the first recipient of a master's degree from Owens College: the university did not award history doctorates at that time.

A notable academic task was her compilation of an index to Earl Spencer's Althorp Library.

[5] In 1901 Cooke moved to Cardiff where she lectured in the history department of the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire.

[3] The leading female undergraduate in their final year at Leeds University is given a prize in honour of Cooke.